Though there is only one Chinese-language name for NWOHR status, it has a variety of translations into English. The Ministry of Justice's English translations of relevant laws and regulations use a variety of translations, including:

NWOHR status arises out of the ROC government's outstanding sovereignty claims to Mainland China, under which essentially all PRC nationals and many overseas Chinese are also ROC nationals under ROC law. ROC nationality law does not use the term "citizen" (公民) but merely defines those with ROC nationality as "nationals" (國民). The further differentiation of "nationals" into NWOHRs and "nationals with household registration" (有戶籍國民), with only the latter entitled to civic duties and obligations in Taiwan, while the former subjected to immigration restrictions in Taiwan. (Note difference between "citizenship" and "nationality" and see similar statuses below.)

The Immigration Act's definition of NWOHR refers only to persons lacking Taiwan Area household registration who live outside of the territory of the Republic of China.[3] Hong Kong and Macau residents and Mainland Area persons who enter the Taiwan Area are also treated as ROC nationals: if they lack household registration, they must apply for Entry Permits rather than visas, and if they wish to reside in the Taiwan Area must apply for Taiwan Area Resident Certificates instead of Alien Registration Certificates.[9] Other aspects of their treatment differ from that given to NWOHRs from overseas. Mongolian nationals were also previously treated as Mainland Area persons under the Mainland Relations Act. However, a 2002 amendment to the Enforcement Rules[Note 1] of the act excluded Mongolia from the definition of "Mainland Area". Since that time, Mongolians are treated as aliens instead of nationals, and apply for visas instead of entry permits to enter the Taiwan Area.[10][11]

Some NWOHRs are entitled to obtain Republic of China passports.[13] Indeed, the Passport Act makes no mention at all of household registration as a condition for issuance.[14] The Passport Act Enforcement Rules provide details on the issuance of passports to NWOHRs. Under Article 8(3) for official and diplomatic passports or 9(1)(2) for ordinary passports, persons without household registration are exempted from the requirement to present a national identification card when applying for a passport. Article 31 governs the Chinese name which may appear on an ROC passport held by an NWOHR; in contrast, other nationals' passports simply use the same name which appears on their identification card. Under 28(1)(5), the identification card number will appear on the passport only for persons having household registration.[15] Thus NWOHRs' passports do not have an identification card number.[1]

Special rules govern the issuance of ROC passports to ROC nationals who concurrently have status as Hong Kong residents, Macau residents, or Mainland Area persons as defined by ROC law.[Note 2][Note 3] Under Passport Act Article 9, persons who are Mainland Area persons, Hong Kong residents, or Macau residents, or have a passport issued by mainland authorities, may only receive an ordinary Republic of China passport with special permission; furthermore, under 19(2), the ROC passport of any person (regardless of household registration) who becomes a "Mainland Area person" shall be revoked.[14] However, Hong Kong and Macau residents who established Overseas Chinese status before the end of colonial rule in those two territories are exempt from the requirement for special permission; instead, they continue to be governed by the rules applying to other overseas Chinese.[16]

Passport Enforcement Rules Articles 17 through 19 provide further details on the issuance of ROC passports to Mainland Area persons, Hong Kong residents, and Macau residents. Under Article 17, ROC passports may be issued to such persons residing in Taiwan to represent the Republic of China in international competitions, or for other special reasons; such passports are valid for three years or less. Articles 18 and 19 authorise the issuance of ROC passports to Mainland Area persons, Hong Kong residents, and Macau residents who fulfill all of the below requirements:

have permanent residence or long-term residence in foreign countries

have resided overseas for four years, or are married to Taiwan Area persons[Note 4] and have children or have been married for more than two years, and

have special contributions in the fields of politics, economy, social affairs, education, technology, culture, athletics, overseas Chinese affairs, religion, or humanitarian work

However, Mainland Area persons who receive a passport under this section must surrender their mainland passports for cancellation (Hong Kong and Macau residents are exempt from this requirement). Passports issued to such persons will be stamped on their final page with the character "new" (新) in the case of Mainland Area persons, or "special" (特) in the case of Hong Kong or Macau residents.[15] However, by 2010 there had been almost no approvals of passport issuance under these provisions. Furthermore, persons acquiring ROC passports under these provisions still have a distinct status from NWOHRs from overseas who hold ROC passports: their entry permission continues to be governed by regulations applicable to Mainland Area persons, Hong Kong residents, or Macau residents as the case may be.[16]

This Entry Permit allows the national without registration in whose passport it is placed to visit the Taiwan Area for multiple visits during its period of validity, with each visit lasting up to three months

In 1991, the ROC government instituted tighter border controls which restricted the eligibility of NWOHRs to enter the Taiwan Area and obtain identification cards.[8] Under Immigration Act Article 8, NWOHRs may enter Taiwan for visiting periods of three months, with the possibility of an extension for another three months.[3] Article 7 allows immigration authorities to refuse an NWOHR permission to enter; Articles 14 and 15 permit the removal and deportation of NWOHRs who have already entered.[3] Deportation and removal are further governed by regulations.[17] Separate regulations govern deportation and removal of Mainland Area persons, Hong Kong residents, and Macau residents.[18] From 1991 to 2011, governmental statistics record a total of 9,138,211 entrances to the Taiwan Area for short-term visits by NWOHRs (excluding mainland area persons, Hong Kong residents, and Macau residents). The rate of entrance has fallen significantly, from 1,444,830 in 1991 to just 19,679 by 2003, a level which has risen only slightly since then.[19]

Due to their lack of Taiwan Area household registration and National Identification Card, NWOHRs do not qualify for the special entry permit schemes used by nationals with household registration to travel to mainland China and Hong Kong. Application for a Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents requires a National Identification Card, or for persons under age 16 a household registration transcript.[23] Similarly, application for an Entry Permit to Visit the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from Taiwan for persons "who do not possess any travel documents which are acceptable to the HKSAR" requires that the applicant present a National Identification Card or a travel document which includes the identification card number.[24][25]

Countries which grant visa-free or visa-on-arrival entry to ROC passport holders may restrict this privilege to persons who are guaranteed to be removable to Taiwan. The presence or absence of a National Identification Card number in the passport is used to make this determination. As NWOHRs do not hold identification cards, their ROC passports thus do not get them visa-free treatment from a number of countries and territories, including Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[39][40][41][42][43][44] Then-Deputy-Minister of Foreign Affairs Shen Lyu-shun stated that during the visa-exemption negotiations with Australia in 2010, he requested the extension of visa-free treatment to NWOHRs, but the Australian side rejected the idea precisely over concerns regarding lack of returnability.[45] Similarly, the United States only grants visa waivers to ROC passport holders with an identification card imprinted in the ROC passport; bearers of an ROC passport without an identification card number are considered them to be stateless persons for visa-issuing purposes, and the Taiwan visa reciprocity schedule does not apply to them.[46][Note 6] NWOHRs using ROC passports to travel to Singapore must have a Taiwan Area Entry/Exit Permit (臨人字號入出國許可).[47]

Immigration Act Article 9 gives the list of conditions under which an NWOHR may apply for a residence permit in Taiwan, including employment, study, and investment. Article 10 gives NWOHRs holding residence permits under some qualifications the right to apply for household registration after a certain period of residence.[3] Regulations provide further details.[48] Applications for residence permits and household registration by Hong Kong residents and Macau residents are governed by a separate set of regulations.[49] Applications for residence permits and household registration by Mainland Area persons are controlled much more strictly, due to concerns over population growth, economic development, and social stability.[50] An NWOHR who enters with a foreign passport or stateless travel document may not apply for residence or household registration, according to Article 12, unless that person has NWOHR status by consequence of naturalisation or of being born overseas to a national having Taiwan Area household registration.[3] From 1991 to 2001, 141,660 residence permits were granted to NWOHRs, and 215,825 NWOHRs were given permission to establish household registration (thus ending their status as NWOHRs). Unlike the numbers of entrances for short term visits, these numbers have shown an upward trend since 1991, rising from 1,085 and 4,903 respectively in 1991 to 10,820 and 17,048 by 2010.[19]

Many descendants of "forgotten soldiers" from Thailand and Burma entered Taiwan on forged or stolen passports, often to enroll at universities in Taiwan. Even if they were discovered, their countries of origin would not accept them for deportation as they were not considered nationals of those countries.[12] In 2009, the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment to the Immigration Act granting amnesty to 875 undeportable migrants as well as 107 members of the Tibetan diaspora who had arrived in Taiwan from 21 May 1999 to 31 December 2009, granting them the right to apply for residence permits.[51] The relevant provisions are in Immigration Act Article 16.[3]

A foreigner who naturalises under the ROC nationality law initially receives a specific type of NWOHR status, known as "national who obtained Republic of China nationality by naturalisation but has not yet established household registration" (因歸化取得中華民國國籍但未設籍國民).[13] A Republic of China national born overseas to a parent having household registration in the Taiwan area also becomes an NWOHR. However, under Immigration Act 9(3) and 9(1) respectively, such persons are entitled to obtain residence permits in the Taiwan Area without further qualification, and may obtain household registration after a period of residence. Immigration Act 10(3)(1) governs the period which such persons must live in the Taiwan Area before becoming entitled to apply for household registration: continuously for one year, 270 days each year for two consecutive years, or 183 days each year for five consecutive years.[3]

NWOHRs are not entitled to national health insurance, an issue which sparked protests in 2010.[52] Nor are they entitled to labour compensation if their employer does not take out insurance for them and they suffer occupational injuries, a situation highlighted by the case of Tsai Chung-li (蔡忠理), an NWOHR who lived in Taiwan for more than a decade but received no worker's compensation after losing his arm in a factory accident.[7] In 2011, an NWOHR and a former NWOHR began gathering signatures to stand in the 2012 legislative election. The two, along with three foreign immigrants also campaigning with them, were not qualified to stand for election under the law, but gathered signatures anyway to raise awareness of their legal situation.[53]

Based on Employment Services Act Article 79,[Note 7] the National Immigration Agency states that NWOHRs who concurrently hold foreign nationality must apply for employment permits in order to work legally in the Taiwan Area; however, NWOHRs who hold no nationality besides that of the Republic of China are exempt from this requirement.[54]

Under Conscription Regulations for Naturalized Aliens & Returning Overseas Chinese Article 3, NWOHRs do not become subject to conscription until one year from the day after they establish household registration.[5]

^The definition of "Mainland Area persons" (大陸地區人民) is given in the Act Governing Relations Between The People Of The Taiwan Area And The Mainland Area Article 2(4) as persons having household registration in mainland China. See "臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例", Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China, Taipei: Ministry of Justice, retrieved 2011-12-22. English translation also available.

^The definition of "Taiwan Area persons" (臺灣地區人民) is also given in the Act Governing Relations Between The People Of The Taiwan Area And The Mainland Area Article 2(3) as persons having household registration in the Taiwan Area.

^As stated by the Bureau of Consular Affairs, "Passports issued since 20 May 2000, meet the definition of a passport under INA requirements as long as they contain a national identification number on the biographic page. Despite the term 'passport' on the cover, documents that do not show that the bearer has a Taiwan national identification number do not allow the bearer unrestricted right to enter and/or reside in Taiwan and do not satisfy the definition of a passport under INA101(a)(30). Pursuant to 22 CFR 41.104(b), the Department has waived the passport requirement for bearers of such documents, who may be issued visas on Form DS-232 if they are otherwise eligible. Visas should be limited to a single entry within three months. Such persons are considered stateless for visa issuing purposes."

^"The provisions of the present Act regarding Foreign Workers shall be applicable to the employment of stateless persons as well as nationals of the Republic of China also possessing the nationality of foreign country(s) but with no permanent residence in the territory of the Republic of China." "就業服務法", Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China, Taipei: Ministry of Justice, 2009-05-13, retrieved 2011-12-30. English translation also available.

^"申办中华人民共和国旅行证", fmcoprc.gov.hk, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2011-06-14, retrieved 2011-12-22